Pressure Vessels II: An update on mental health among higher … · 2020-04-29 · 2 April 2020 1. Introduction and context Pressure Vessels The HEPI Occasional Paper, Pressure Vessels,

1April 2020

Summary

• Analysisof17universitiesrevealsacontinuedriseinstaffaccesstocounsellingandoccupationalhealthreferralssincePressure Vesselswaspublishedin2019.

• From2016to2018,therewasanincreaseof16%incounsellingatthe14universitiesforwhichcomparabletimeseriesdatawereobtained.1

• Overthesameperiodoftime,therewasariseof19%inoccupationalhealthreferralsatthe16universitiesforwhichcomparabletimeseriesdatawereobtained.2

• From2009/10totheendof2017/18,atthosefiveuniversitiesreportingcompletedata,therewasariseof172%instaffaccesstocounselling.

• Atall17universities,therehasbeenariseinstaffaccesstocounsellingof155%inrecentyears.Thehighest increaseswereat theUniversityofBath (500%), theUniversityofKent(325%)andKeeleUniversity(203%).

• Atthe10universitieswithdatafor2009to2018,occupationalhealthreferralsroseby170%.ThelargestoccupationalhealthreferralincreaseswereatKent(500%),DeMontfort(392%)andBristol(334%),althoughtherewasafallof75%atBath.

• Forcounsellingandoccupationalhealth,thefiguresreflectgenderdifferentiation,withwomenmorehighlyrepresented.

• There is also a pattern corresponding to contract type: for occupational healthdata,wefindthelargestproportionofindividualsbeingreferredareprofessionalservicesstaff.

• Whilegreateruseofsupportservicesmaysometimesreflectimprovedaccess,theanalysisprovidesstrongsupportforourclaimsaboutthedecliningmentalhealthofuniversitystaff.

Pressure Vessels II: An update on mental health among higher

education staff in the UK Dr Liz Morrish, Visiting Fellow at York St John University, and Professor Nicky Priaulx, Professor of Law, School of

Law and Politics at Cardiff University

April 2020HEPI Policy Note 23

2 April 2020

1. Introduction and context

Pressure Vessels

TheHEPIOccasionalPaper,Pressure Vessels, byLizMorrish(2019)analyseddataobtainedfromFreedomofInformationenquiriesof74highereducationinstitutions(HEIs)intheUKwhichemployedmorethan2,000staff.3

TheFreedomofInformationrequestssoughtinformationrelatingtothenumberofuniversityemployeesaccessingcounsellingservicesandreferredtooccupationalhealth(somein-houseservices and some via EmployeeAssistance Programmes), to gain insight into trends from2009/10to2015/16.

Therehadpreviouslybeensignificantmediacoverageabouttherisingratesofpoormentalhealthamongstudents,butthiswasthefirstdetailedanalysisofthesituationforhighereducationstaff,whoseworkingenvironmentandmentalhealthhavebeencomparativelyneglected.

ThePressure Vessels reportfocusedprimarilyonacademic staff.Wenowwishtodrawattentiontowardsageneralisedproblemforallstaffand,inparticular,forprofessionalservicesstaff.

Professionalservicesstaffareoftenmarginalised indiscussionsaboutthehighereducationworkforce,despitethesignificantrolestheyplay.Theyarealsomorelikelytobevulnerabletorestructuringandredundancy.

The study

The data in Pressure Vessels were obtained by Freedom of Information requests from 74institutionsfortheperiodfrom2009/10to2015/16.ThisPolicyNoteconcentratesonasmallerselectionofuniversities.Workingwithasmallerdatasetprovidestheopportunityfordeeperanalysis.

ThelatestFreedomofInformationrequestswereraisedfromJunetoAugust2019andfocusedon 17 universities. These sought to elicit comparable information, notably staff numbersaccessing counselling and referrals to occupational health for the 2016/17 and 2017/18academicyears.

The17universitiesinquestionmetanumberofcriteriaforselection.Mostofthemprovidedmeaningfuldataonbothaccess tocounsellingandoccupationalhealth referrals, so trendsandcorrelationsbetweenthemcanbemapped.4

Although more use of such services can sometimes reflect welcome improved access tosupport,theanalysisprovidesstrongsupportforourclaimsaboutthedecliningmentalhealthofuniversitystaff.

Whilecomprehensivenessofcounsellingandoccupationalhealthdataistheleadconsideration,some institutions were of particular interest because of sudden or sustained increases inreferralstooccupationalhealthandcounselling.InPressure Vessels,forexample,thiswasseentobethecaseattheUniversityofKentandWarwickUniversity.Thelatterinstitutiondismissedthereportas‘fouryearsoutofdate’.5

So,thereisaclearneedtoprovideanupdatetoshowwhathashappenedsincethe2015/16academicyearandtoanswerchargesregardingunreliabledata.

2. Beyond Pressure Vessels – an update

Theanalysiswepresenthasbeenverifiedupto lateFebruary2020. Institutionswereaskedtoprovidethenumberofstaffusingoraccessingcounsellingservices,andtocategorisethis

3April 2020

informationbygenderandcontracttypefor2016/17and2017/18.

Inaddition,theywereaskedtoprovidethenumberofreferralsofstafftooccupationalhealthforbothofthoseyears,categorisedbytypeofreferral(managementreferral,self-referralandotherkindsofreferral),aswellasprovidingfiguresbyyearforgenderandcontracttype.6

Pressure Vesselshadrequesteddatafor2016/17and,inthissecondinvestigation,werepeatedourrequestfordataforthatyear.Someinstitutionshadreported2016/17databutothershadnot,anditprovidedanopportunitytocheckconsistencyandaccuracyofthereporteddata.7

Counselling trends, 2009/10 to 2017/18Withinthenewapproach,wehavedataforcounsellingreferralsforall17universitiesforatleastfiveyears,andinsomecaseslonger.Acrosstheentiresample,universitiessuppliedsufficientdatatobeabletoanalysetrendsacrossfourormoreyears(withtheexceptionofNottinghamTrentUniversity,wherethedatacoverstwocalendaryears,2017and2018).• Fiveoftheuniversitieswereabletoprovidedataforallnineyearsfrom2009/10to2017/18.

Theaverage rise instaffaccess tocounselling for thisperiodwas172%across thesefiveuniversities.

• Inrespectofthe13universitieswherewehavedatafor2016to2018inclusive,allowingustoseetrendsforalaterperiodthantheoneinPressure Vessels,therewasanincreaseof16%from2016/17to2017/18.

• Ofthe15universitiesthathaveprovideddataforafull2017/18academicor2018calendaryear,aswellasdatafromthepreviousyear,therehasbeenarisefromoneyeartothenextof22%instaffaccesstocounselling.

Amongall17universities,wefindsomeverylargeindividualincreasesinreferralratesacrossthenine-yearperiodandthedataareshowninthetablebelow.Rise in access to counselling referrals (%)

Institution Years IncreaseUniversity of Bath 2010/11to2017/18 500University of Kent 2009/10to2017/18 325Keele University 2010/11to2017/18 203University of Reading 2012/13to2017/18 185University of Bristol 2009/10to2016/17 179University of Warwick 2009/10to2017/18 171Newcastle University 2009/10to2017/18 160De Montfort University 2011/12to2017/18 144University of Durham 2012/13to2017/18 136University of Exeter 2012to2018(calendaryears) 127University of Hull 2009/10to2017/18 109University of Surrey 2012/13to2017/18 97University of Dundee 2009/10to2017/18 94Cardiff University 2009/10to2016/17 77University of Cambridge 2014/15to2017/18 62University of Portsmouth 2009to2018(calendaryears) 33Nottingham Trent University 2017to2018(calendaryears) 29

SomeofthebiggestriseswerepreviouslyidentifiedinPressure Vesselsandareconfirmedhere.

WeprovideillustrationsinrespectoftheUniversitiesofBath,Keele,NewcastleandWarwick.8

TheUniversityofBath-Staff numbers accessing counselling

050

100150200250300350400450500

Year2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

150118

626153485825

KeeleUniversity-Staff numbers accessing counselling

050

100150200250300350400450500

Year2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

9493726170454431

NewcastleUniversity-Staff numbers accessing counselling

050

100150200250300350400450500

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

231201201165157139

876589

TheUniversityofWarwick-Staff numbers accessing counselling

050

100150200250300350400450500

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

317298

487

309312230221

148117

4 April 2020

Counselling trends – gender

Womenaremorelikelythanmentoaccessstaffcounselling.Thegraphshowsthepercentageof the total numbers accessing counsellingwho are female,male and a categorywehavelabelledas‘Other’.

Wemustofferanoteofcautionhere.Firstly,onlyasmallproportionofEmployeeAssistanceProgrammesoperatingforhighereducationinstitutionscollectorreportdataongender,andsocollectionofthisinformationhasbeensporadic.‘Other’hasbeenusedwhereinstitutionshaveindicatedthatsomestaffdidnotdeclaretheirgender,preferrednottosayordeclaredspecificidentities,suchastransgender.

Percentage of those accessing counselling by gender

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

5

1919141412

442

68

5857596164696870

262325272524272827

Men % Women % Other %

Occupational health referrals, 2009/10 to 2017/18

The figures in the new investigation reveal a continued upward trajectory in access tooccupational health services, with an aggregate increase in referrals of 19% since Pressure Vessels inthe16institutionsforwhichwehavecomparabledata.

AswithPressure Vessels,institutionsappeartobeabletoreportafullerpictureofoccupationalhealthreferralsfrom2009thanforcounselling.

Tenuniversitiespresentedcompletedatafrom2009totheendofthe2017/18academicyear(andinthreecases,theendofthe2018calendaryear).Here,wefindanaveragepercentageriseinoccupationalhealthreferralsof173%.

Therearesomeinstitutionswhichhaverisesthataresignificantlygreaterthanaverage.

• TheUniversityofKenthasexperiencedariseof500%instaffreferralstooccupationalhealth,KeeleUniversityhasexperiencedariseof460%andDeMontfortUniversityhasexperiencedariseof392%.

• TheUniversityofBristol,whichhas recentlyacknowledgedtheneedto improvestudentwelfare after some high-profile problems, has seen an increase in staff referrals tooccupationalhealthof334%.

• Oneuniversity,Bath,presentsamaterialdeclineinoccupationalhealthreferralsof75%.

Thetablebelowshowsthat,whiletherearesomemodestrisesinreferrals,theoverallupwardtrajectory is large and raises important questions regarding managerial responsibility forremediationofwork-relatedstress.

5April 2020

Rise in access to occupational health referrals (%)

Institution Years IncreaseUniversity of Kent 2009/10-2017/18 500Keele University 2011/12-2017/18 460De Montfort University 2009-2018(calendaryear) 392University of Bristol 2009/10-2017/18 334University of Cambridge 2009/10-2017/18 259University of Durham 2009-2017 150Cardiff University 2014/15-2017/18 130Nottingham Trent University 2011/12-2015/16 80University of Reading 2011-2017 66University of Portsmouth 2009-2018(calendaryears) 64University of Hull 2009/10-2017/18 53University of Warwick 2010-2018(calendaryears) 52University of Surrey 2009-2017 41University of Exeter 2014/15-2017/18 36Newcastle University 2009/10-2017/18 10University of Dundee 2013/14-2017/18 -1University of Bath 2009/10-2017/18 -75

Again, someof themostworrying riseswhichwerepreviously identified inPressure VesselsareconfirmedhereandweprovideillustrationsinrespectofBristol,Cambridge,DeMontfort,Durham,KeeleandKent.9

TheUniversityofBristol-Referrals of staff to occupational health

0100200300400500600700800

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

165169928160110816938

TheUniversityofCambridge-Referrals of staff to occupational health

0100200300400500600700800

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

782

592635561

445369326293

218

6 April 2020

DeMontfortUniversity-Referrals of staff to occupational health

0100200300400500600700800

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

654625

382269276251273268232

133

TheUniversityofDurham-Referrals of staff to occupational health

0100200300400500600700800

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

549498

345329334306303266220

KeeleUniversity-Referrals of staff to occupational health

0100200300400500600700800

Year2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

263240125146120

5447

TheUniversityofKent-Referrals of staff to occupational health

0100200300400500600700800

Year2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

426405372343243

1481157971

7April 2020

Occupational health trends: gender and contract type

Aswithaccesstocounselling,occupationalhealthreferralsdisplayaclearlygenderedpattern.Wherefiguresforgenderwereprovidedfrom2009to2017,womenaccountedfor60%ofthoseaccessingoccupationalhealth,despitemakingup55%ofthehighereducationworkforce.

Percentage of those accessing occupational health by gender

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

6560606061616162

58

3540404039393938

42

Men % Women %

Inaddition,wealsosee thatprofessional services staffmakeupa significantproportionofalloccupationalhealth referrals. Sinceprofessional services staffarepredominantly female,wemightexpecttofindastrongintersectionbetweenthepopulationsaccordingtogenderandcontracttype.Between2009to2017,ofoccupationalhealthreferralswherecontracttypewasdeclaredonFreedomofInformationdata,65%wereprofessionalservicesstaff.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatprofessionalservicesstaffmakeup51%ofallhighereducationstaffand, judgingbytheirrateofreferraltooccupationalhealth,wemayconcludethattheyaredisproportionatelyimpactedbyworkplacestress.10

Percentage of those accessing occupational health by contract type

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

777170686561636159

2329303235

39373941

Academic staff % Professional services staff %

8 April 2020

3. Conclusion

Acrossthenewsample,wherecomprehensivedataisprovidedfrom2009/10to2017/18,theaverageriseinstaffaccessingcounsellingforthisperiodis172%.

Inthelastreportedyearofthedata,therewasariseof22%instaffaccessingcounsellingfromthepreviousyearatthe15universitiesprovidingcomparabledata.

Womenaremorelikelythanmentoaccessstaffcounsellingevenaftertakingintoaccountthefactthattherearemorefemaleuniversitystaffthanmaleuniversitystaff.

From2009totheendofthe2017/18academicyear(andinthreecases,theendofthe2018calendaryear),wefindanaverageriseinstaffaccessingoccupationalhealthof173%acrossthe10universitieswithcomparabledata.Womenareagainover-representedasareprofessionalservicesstaff.

It is hard to avoid the conclusion reached by Erickson et al that the morale andmentalhealthofhighereducationemployees in theUKhavebeendamagedby‘thewoeful stateofmanagementandgovernanceintheUKHEsector’.11Wecanrecognisethatmanagersarealsosubjecttoahighriskofworkplacestressandtheymustfrequentlyrespondtochangingdemandsfromgovernmentaswellastryingtomeettheneedsoftheirstaff.However,itseemsmanagementteamsarerarelyheldtothesamestandardsofaccountabilityasotherstaff.

Erickson et al asked 5,888 academics to evaluate the senior management teams of 78universitiesinasatisfactionsurveysimilarinscopetotheNational Student Survey.Themeanscoreacrossthesector foruniversitystaffsatisfiedwiththeirseniormanagementwas11%.Thehighest-scoringinstitutionscored37%andthelowest0%.TheissuesidentifiedasdrivingdissatisfactionresonatewiththeconclusionsinPressure Vessels:

The seven major themes were the dominance and brutality of metrics; excessive workload; governance, accountability and HE ‘fantasy football’; perpetual change and the loss of institutional memory; vanity projects; the silenced academic; and work as a mental health hazard.12

ThefindingsofastudybySiobhanWrayandGailKinmanalsolendsupporttotheconclusionsofPressure Vessels thatworkloads,additionaldemands,and incursions into thecontrol thatacademicshavetraditionallymaintainedovertheirwork,haveallcontributedtoanincreasinglystressful and unsafe working environment.13 Their report has usefully applied the HealthandSafety Executive’smanagement standards indicator tomeasure and compare levels ofpsychologicalhazard.Thefindingsquantifytheperceptionsofacademicsthattheirworkingenvironmentshavequiterapidlydeterioratedintoasituationwhereurgentactionisrequired,andindeedmandated,bytheHealthandSafetyExecutive.

Theseconditionsareclearlyreplicatedinthehighereducationsystemsofothercountries.IntheNetherlands,universitieswillshortlyfindtheirstructuralovertimebecomingthesubjectofmonitoringbytheLabourInspectorate.WorkbyIngridRobeynsfoundthatacademicsareloyalemployeeswithastrongworkethic,whichmakesthemeasytoexploit.Herstudyfoundthatacademicswereroutinelyworking10to15hoursofovertimeweekly.14

Someinstitutionshaverejectedcomplaintsaboutpoormoraleevenwhenconfrontedwiththeevidence.15Similarly,whenacademicscomplainaboutstressatwork,oradditionaldemandswhichhaveemergedfromincreasingthemarketisationofhighereducation,theyhavebeenreassuredbymanagementthattheystillhavetheprivilegeofalargedegreeofcontrolovertheirworklives.

9April 2020

However,WrayandKinman’sreportdemonstratesthisassumptionhasdescendedintomyth.Wedonotneedtolookfarforevidencethatacademics’autonomyhasbeenseverelycurtailedinrecentyears.TheTimes Higher reportsthatTeessideUniversityrecentlynotifiedstaffthattheyshouldnotworkfromhomeformorethanoneortwodayspersemesterandthatpermissionmustbeofficiallyrequestedfrommanagement.16Thereappearstobenoobviousinstitutionalgainfromsucharuling.

ItshouldalsobeborneinmindthatstaffwhocomefromcountriesoutsideoftheEUaresubjecttoevenmorestringentsurveillanceoftheirworkplaceattendance.17

Surveillance,paceofchange,precarity,threatsofredundanciesanddecreasedautonomyarearecipeforwidespreadmentalillnessthroughoutthesector.Pressure Vesselsalsodetailedhowimpositionofnewworkloadallocationmodelshasledtoanincreaseinworkloaddemands,whileensuringthatmanytasksareundercountedintermsofhoursorarerenderedinvisible.Management by metrics (papers published, Research Excellence Framework ‘star’ ratings,citations,journalimpactfactors,grantmoniesearned,teaching,National Student Surveyscoresand so on), often dignifiedwith the term‘performancemanagement’, also guarantees theworkingenvironmentispunishingandstressful.

Wenoteaswellthefrequentabsenceinmostuniversitiesofmeaningfulstructuresofsharedgovernance,whichhavebeenreplacedbythecharadeoffrequent‘consultation’exercises.Littlewonderthatasenseofautonomyorcontrolhasevaporatedinrecentyearsasperformancemanagementandmetricsurveillancehaveextendedtheirreach.

Staffcomplaintsaboutwork-relatedpressurecanonlybeignoreduntilthesicknessmountstoacriticalpoint.ThiswasthecaserecentlywhenAbertayUniversitysuspendedrecruitmentto its two-yeardegreesafter staffcomplainedofadditionalworkloadpressures.18This isaninstitutionwhichhasrecentlyundergonewide-scalereformsinteachingandlearning,whileatthesametimemakingredundancies.19

AsectorinturmoilisresultingindamagetotheprofessioncausedbywhatarecentstudybyPriaulxandDaviescalls‘arevolvingdoor’ofstaffturnover.20Theirfiguressuggestthatalmostone-fifthoftheworkforce(full-timeequivalentstaff,not includingatypicalstaff) leavetheirinstitutionseachyear.

Worryingly,thisdoesnotappeartobeofconcerntotheUniversitiesandCollegesEmployersAssociation(UCEA),whichofferscontrastingfiguresintheirHigher Education Workforce Report2019.21Thisstatesthatthemediantotalemployeeturnoverrateforacademicstaffonopen-endedcontracts in2017/18wasjust8%.Itnotesthatratesatpre-1992institutionsareslightlylower,andratesatpost-1992institutionsareslightlyhigher.UCEAgoesontostatethatthesemedianfiguresare‘wellbelowwiderUKaveragesforstaffinsimilarorganisations’:

Employee turnover in the sector remains low relative to external benchmarks and has fallen since the 2017 survey. Across all UK HEIs, HESA data show a median resignation rate of 7.6% in 2017–18, based on all staff employed on open-ended contracts and total turnover was 11.8%. Rates of turnover at Pre-1992 HEIs are slightly lower. The median resignation rate in the wider economy was 12.9% in 2018 according to an XpertHR survey of 349 private and public sector organisations with median total turnover standing at 18.8%.22

10 April 2020

Priaulx and Davies’ findings highlight a problem with accuracy in the UCEA method ofcalculating academic staff turnover but also its benchmarking. UCEA excludes all staff onfixed-termcontracts andcalculatesstaffturnoveronthebasisofopen-endedcontractsonlybutbenchmarks theirfiguresagainstsectorswhich include theveryemployeepopulationsUCEAexcludes.PriaulxandDaviescallthismethodofcalculatingturnover‘atoolofstrategicignorance’. They offer revised figures to include fixed-term staff, who when employed onteaching contracts also count towards the‘student staff ratio’, and these show higher andfluctuatingratesofstaffturnoveracrossthesector.In2016/17,theaveragestaffturnoverrateacrossthesectorwas17%(16%median).Acloserlook,however,highlightsthisproblemwithinspecifichighereducationinstitutions.Forexample,theturnoverfiguresfor2017/18highlightthat27%oftheLondonSchoolofEconomics’sacademicstaff‘left’theorganisationacross12months.

Ifthesectorasawholecannotbeopenaboutthescaleofthementalhealthcrisis,theevidentcauses,thegenderedeffects,thecontributionofcasualisationandtheresultinglossofstaffthroughturnover,weareplacingcareersandthefutureofresearchatrisk.Aswe,hopefully,emergefromtheglobalCovid-19pandemic,highereducationwillfaceaseriesofchallengeswhichwillnodoubtbebothfinancialandorganisational.Theonlycertaintyisthatthementalhealthof thevastmajorityof itsworkforcewillhavebeenadverselyaffected.Therewillbean increaseddemandforsupportservices, forsustainableworkloadsandforareductionofroutine accountability exercises like theTeaching Excellence Framework and the ResearchExcellenceFramework.23

The previous Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Chris Skidmore, appealed forsustainablecareerpathwaysinacademiaandresearch.24Itwasencouraging,butitisnowtimeforhissuccessorstofollowthisrecognitionwithactiontoensurethatallofuswhocareabouthighereducationmovetoaddressthem.

4. Recommendations

Pressure Vessels made a number of recommendations, including: more realistic workloadallocations;moreresponsibleuseofmetrics;betterperformancemanagementpolicies;andacommitmentbyuniversitiestosustainablecareers.Butthoseinvolvedintheplanningandmanagementofuniversitiesnowneedtogofurtherby:

• recognisingworkplace stress in academia is increasing and referrals to counselling andoccupationalhealthshouldbeconsistentlyandaccuratelydocumented;

• recognising stress can be caused by structural problems, such as overwork, insecurity,uncertainty, excessive surveillance anddecreasedautonomy - thesemustbe addressedsector-wideandcannotberemediedby‘wellness’programmes;

• holdingthemselvesaccountableforensuringthatcurrenthighlevelsofworkplacestressarediminished,andthatknownstressorswithininstitutionalcontrolareimmediatelyreducedtotheHealthandSafetyExecutive’sacceptablelevels;andenhancingthesustainabilityofacademiccareers,withafocusonreducingstressandburnoutandenhancingtheintrinsicrewardofworkinuniversities.

Aboveall,institutionsshouldreciprocatethededicationofuniversitystaffwithacommitmentnot to exploit that loyalty.Workload allocations and targets shouldbemanageablewithincontractualhours.

11April 2020

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1 Based on 14 HEIs (note that three others providedinsufficient data or problematic data to be able tocalculatethis).

2 Basedon16HEIs (notethatNottinghamTrentprovidedinsufficientdataforPressure Vesselstocalculatethis).

3 LizMorrish,Pressure Vessels: The epidemic of poor mental health among higher education staff, HEPI OccasionalPaper 20, 2019 https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/HEPI-Pressure-Vessels-Occasional-Paper-20.pdf

4 Withmanyofthe institutions inPressure Vessels,wehadone entire data categorymissing (either counselling oroccupationalhealthorboth).

5 This is incorrect, however. The Freedom of Informationrequestwas raised in 2017, andWarwickprovideddataon Counselling for the 2009/10 to 2015/16 academicyears.Theycouldhavechosentoprovideinformationfor2016/17 as some others did.When Pressure Vessels waspublished,wewerestillinthe2018/19academicyearsocompletefigurescouldnotbeprovidedforthatyear.

6 Notall‘otherreferrals’havebeenincludedinthefiguresfortheanalysis.Someinstitutionsdeclaredthatoccupationalhealthperformsservicessuchashealthscreeningfornewstaff,orvaccinationsforparticulargroupsofstaff,whichwereexcludedwheretheycouldbeidentifiedinordertofocus on management referrals and, where applicable,self-referrals.

7 Someuniversitiesprovideddifferentfiguresforthesameyear:some institutionsprovidingthe2016/17data forasecond time reported figures which were significantlylowerthanhadbeenreportedinresponsetotheearlierrequest.AnymethodologicalconcernsarehighlightedintheAppendicesonline.

8 See the online Infogram appendices provided by theBumpy Landing Project for visualisations of all 17 HEIs.Appendix 1: https://infogram.com/probe-appendix-1-cardiff-de-montfort-keele-newcastle-nottingham-trent-bath-bristol-and-cambridge-1hmr6gzg7dlz2nlAppendix 2: https://infogram.com/probe-appendix-2-dundee-exeter-hull-kent-portsmouth-reading-surrey-warwick-and-durham-1h9j6qkd8y1v6gz?live

9 Seeendnote8.10 https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/23-01-2020/sb256-higher-

education-staff-statistics11 MarkErickson,PaulHannaandCarlWalker,‘TheUKhigher

education senior management survey: a statactivistresponse tomanagerialist governance’,Studies in Higher Education,2020DOI:0.1080/03075079.2020.1712693

12 Seeendnote10.13 SiobhanWrayandGailKinman,‘Therisksassociatedwith

academicwork:Ananalysisoftrends(2008–2014)’,Paperpresentedat theSociety for Research in Higher Education Conference,December2019,Newport

14 Delta: Journalistic platformTU Delft, 2020. Overworkedacademics are taking their concerns to the LabourInspectorate https://www.delta.tudelft.nl/article/overworked-academics-are-taking-their-concerns-labour-inspectorate

15 Sally Weale, ‘Higher education staff suffer “epidemic”of poor mental health’, Guardian, 23 May 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/may/23/higher-education-staff-suffer-epidemic-of-poor-mental-health

16 AnnaMcKie,‘Teessidesaysstaffmustapplyforpermissiontoworkoff-campus’,Times Higher Education,11December2019 https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/teesside-says-staff-must-apply-permission-work-campus

17 EllieBothwell,‘ForeignstaffcallforclarityoverBirminghamattendance policy’, Times Higher Education, 29 January2019 https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/foreign-staff-call-clarity-over-birmingham-attendance-policy

18 Anna McKie, ‘Abertay “pauses” shorter degrees as staffcomplain of “pressure”’, Times Higher Education, 30December 2019 https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/abertay-pauses-accelerated-degrees-staff-complain-pressure

19 Alastair Robertson, Developing a new whole institutional approach to teaching and learning enhancement, HigherEducation Academy, 2016 https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/developing_a_new_whole_institutional_approach_to_teaching_and_learning_enhancement_-_abertay_university.pdf StefanMorris,‘Upto20jobscouldbeaxedatAbertayUniversityin cost-cuttingmove’, The Courier, 17May 2019 https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/893952/up-to-20-jobs-could-be-axed-at-abertay-university-in-cost-cutting-move/

20 NickyPriaulxandGailDavies,‘UCEA’sstrategicignoranceofstaffturnoverinuniversities’,USSbriefs88,2019https://medium.com/ussbriefs/uceas-strategic-ignorance-of-staff-turnover-in-uk-universities-8acbeba9e2fc

21 UCEA, Higher Education Workforce Report 2019 https://www.ucea.ac.uk/library/publications/he-workforce-report-2019/

22 UCEA,Higher Education Workforce Report,2019,p.1823 DorothyBishop,NowisagoodtimetoditchtheREFand

TEF,Times Higher Education,24March2020https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/now-good-time-uk-ditch-ref-and-tef

24 @CSkidmoreUK Tweet, 20 January 2020 https://twitter.com/CSkidmoreUK/status/1219322009735389185?s=20

Endnotes